AWOL on the Appalachian Trail

In 2003, software engineer David Miller left his job, family, and friends to hike 2,172 miles of the Appalachian Trail. AWOL on the Appalachian Trail is Miller's account of this thru-hike from Georgia to Maine. Listeners are treated to rich descriptions of the Appalachian Mountains, the isolation and reverie, the inspiration that fueled his quest, and the rewards of taking a less conventional path through life. While this book abounds with introspection and perseverance, it also provides useful passages about hiking gear and planning.

'If I had my way, every idiot who goes around with Merry Christmas on his lips, would be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. Merry Christmas? Bah humbug!' Charles Dickens' ghostly tale of sour and stingy miser Ebenezer Scrooge has captivated readers, listeners and audiences for over 150 years. This Christmas, Audible Studios brings this story to life in an audio drama featuring an all-star cast.

Highlight says:"THANK YOU 🎄🤶🏻🎄& Merry Christmas"

Publisher's Summary

Girl in the Woods is Aspen Matis' exhilarating true-life adventure of hiking from Mexico to Canada - a coming-of-age story, a survival story, and a triumphant story of overcoming emotional devastation. On her second night of college, Aspen was raped by a fellow student. Overprotected by her parents who discouraged her from telling of the attack, Aspen was confused and ashamed. Dealing with a problem that has sadly become all too common on college campuses around the country, she stumbled through her first semester - a challenging time made even harder by the coldness of her college's "conflict mediation" process. Her desperation growing, she made a bold decision: She would seek healing in the freedom of the wild, on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail leading from Mexico to Canada.

In this inspiring memoir, Aspen chronicles her journey, a five-month trek that was ambitious, dangerous, and transformative. A 19-year-old girl alone and lost, she conquered desolate mountain passes and met rattlesnakes, bears, and fellow desert pilgrims. Exhausted after each 30-mile day, at times on the verge of starvation, Aspen was forced to confront her numbness, coming to terms with the sexual assault and her parents' disappointing reaction. On the trail and on her own, she found that survival is predicated on persistent self-reliance. She found her strength. After a thousand miles of solitude, she found a man who helped her learn to love and trust again - and heal.

Told with elegance and suspense, Girl in the Woods is a beautifully rendered story of eroding emotional and physical boundaries to reveal the truths that lie beyond the edges of the map.

From the gripping true story of the struggles leading to and on the PCT to the performance this is a story that will inspire you to know that you can find yourself, no matter what the odds are. I loved it.

This is a story about a spoiled brat walking through the woods all the while making more and more enemies on her trip. She lives in the shadow of her successful family members and endures a tragedy early on and then continues to mention it I swear NO less than a 100 times. Her mom is a codependent weirdo so no wonder this girl is a mess. I truly feel sorry for her and its sad that often when she is probably misunderstood but she continues to victimize herself. Waste of my money and time and I REALL REALLY tried to like this story and the girl but it's almost impossible. I stopped 6 chapters from the end because it just wasn't worth my annoyance with this girl and if that was the authors intent they nailed it! Also the narrators voice is exactly how I would expect this spoiled brats voice would be, annoying!!!

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

M. Varrin

Los Gatos, CA

23/09/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Wanted to like this"

My subjects heading sort of says it all. Tedious to listen to. The narrator affected a little girl voice and spoke as if her audience are five year olds. The "mommy" and "daddy" thing was really hard to listen to. Maybe reading it it would have made more sense. I get that the author was trying to show how young she was when she did this. I'm very familiar with the trail, my 19-year-old son just completed it, and I genuinely felt that she exaggerated dangers. I really only got to about one third of the way through the book and so I'm only talking about the dangers mentioned there. kudos to her bravery and for fighting back as one of the 25% of college girls who are raped, and her story is a good one, but this needed more editing. Hard to watch her make so many bad decisions, and I don't know how it ends, but I hope she continues on her upwards healing path. Could not finish this book.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Ms Madden

Sugar Land TX

06/03/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Not a Likable Person"

I waa busy when I first started listening to this book. I heard about sex she had with a guy. As the other reviewer states, she kept talking about being raped. I literally had to rewind because I thought I missed the rape part of the book. Nope. I didnt. I'm not saying she wasnt raped, but the way she described it sounded like a couple who went to far and she wasnt mature enough to handle it. I was hoping for another PCT trail book like Wild. This isnt even close.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

eve

JACKSON HTS, NY, United States

03/04/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Narrator made me hate her"

Something about the narrators vocal inflections, and tone of voice, and the way she said "did-int and "could-int" instead of didn't and couldn't, made her Sound like a spoiled rich girl all throughout the book. And she kept making so many bad decisions, I'm sorry, I just wanted to slap her( not really, I'm not a violent person, but Please, girl!!) I know we were all stupid when we were 19, and she had been especially sheltered, but after hours of this I could not sympathize. She was a very very lucky girl!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Eric

Seattle, WA, United States

22/02/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Self-Absorbed, yet Lacking Self-Awareness"

I really wanted to like this book. I really did. I read all the negative reviews and figured that maybe those reviewers were just too jaded or maybe being insensitive to a young woman's problem and her attempt to deal with it. I was going to read this book and like it in spite of the negative reviews. Well . . . I'm sorry to say that those negative comments were pretty accurate. This author is so over-the-top in self absorption and yet totally lacking any semblance of self-awareness that is in painful to read. She seems incapable of seeing how pampered and babied she is, incapable of learning from anything she's done and sees herself as everybody's potential victim. I wanted to root for some sort of real understanding on her part, but it is hard to feel any empathy, any sympathy for a spoiled rich girl who couldn't even dress herself until high school, who couldn't operate a washing machine in college and who had never had any kind of real job. Hard to feel pity for her travails on the trail when mommy and daddy provide a cell phone, sat phone, GPS, credit card and drop boxes from Whole Foods at every trail crossing. And her constant wallowing in her "shame" and her low self-esteem or her self-proclaimed ugliness just gets pathetic.If she wants those of us in the real world to understand her "burden", the author needs to actually live in the real world for a while.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Mike

Canton, MI USA

23/01/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"to find inner strength"

it takes a long time for it to build up, but the story has a very satisfying ending.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

TheBobbiWalters

17/08/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"What a bunch of pretentious drivel"

First of all, you mother physically dressing you all the way through high school is creepy. But I couldn't even get through the first chapter. Just so much bragging and pretention. Basically a load of bs.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Kristin

24/06/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"ok"

was disappointed in the potentially fatal risks taken on the trail that doesn't seem reasonable for a experienced hiker. was also frustrated by the amount of focus on dating on the trail, was expecting more of a tale of grand adventure and personal growth. the start was a really impactful story of sexual assault and reflection on the societal influences/perceptions related.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Linda S. White

Gilbert, AZ

09/05/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Young n wondering"

This is a youths perspective on life n the pct. I almost didn't listen to it when reading some reviews but decided to try it anyhow. I'm glad I did. This young girl had a lot to wrestle with. Making sense of big issues when young can be very challenging.

She is dramatic n spoiled though articulate.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Joshua

07/04/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"A life of a teenager!! The good the bad and the ??"

Very enjoyable! Really followed every step along the PCT. can't believe some people's parents are like her's. great book.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Report Inappropriate Content

If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.